Fiery Cross

DIANA GABALDON is the author of the international bestselling Outlander novels and Lord John Grey series.She says that the Outlander series started by accident: ‘I decided to write a novel for practice in order to learn what it took to write a novel, and to decide whether I really wanted to do it for real. I did – and here we all are trying to decide what to call books that nobody can describe, but that fortunately most people seem to enjoy.’ And enjoy them they do – in their millions, all over the world. Published in 42 countries and 38 languages, in 2014 the Outlander novels were made into an acclaimed TV series starring Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser and Caitríona Balfe as Claire. Diana lives with her husband and dogs in Scottsdale, Arizona.

I challenge anyone to read just a few pages of this monumental book and not, within moments, disappear alongside Claire through the stones, to another time and place. I found myself 10 years ago, embarking on my Outlander TV journey. I was literally sucked into Diana’s dramatic story (the line between reality and fiction as fragile as the pages of this book, held between Jamie’s tapping finger and thumb). Only now, over a decade later, 8 seasons and 101 episodes of extraordinary Television, do I find myself with some sadness, looking back on this epic journey, yearning to do it all again. The joy of this book though, is that one can, simply by reading again…